Dancing Bull was established 8+ years ago as a brand focused on Zinfandel, and to this day that’s the wine for which I assume they’re best known. We’ve reviewed reviewed their Zinfandel in the past, and it was pretty good. But that’s not all they’re producing. After their success with Zinfandel, they’ve branched out into other varieties and today we’re tasting the Cabernet Sauvignon.

If you’ve spent much time browsing the wine isles at you’re local shops, the bull icon on this label may look familiar—not just from Dancing Bull wines, but from Rancho Zabaco wine. That’s because Dancing Bull is part of the Rancho Zabaco family, which is owned by wine giant E.&J. Gallo.

This is not an appellation-specific wine, but is a bulk-produced wine with fruit from a couple different regions in California. Cabernet Sauvignon actually only makes up about 78% of the fruit in this wine and about half of the Cabernet comes from Sonoma County while the other half comes from the Central Coast. The rest of the fruit is a combination of Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel and “mixed reds.”

This is a nice Cabernet Sauvignon for 12 bucks. It has good intensity and concentration. There’s a good bit of dark chocolate on the nose, along with blackberry, strawberry and leather. There’s a touch of smoke too. It’s a little on the fruit-forward side on the palate, so I would only recommend this to those who like a lot of fruit in their Cabernet. Big blackberry, plum and strawberry flavors. It could use a touch more acid, but I wouldn’t call it flabby. It has a touch of spice to it too. The finish is medium in length and enjoyable.

I would classify this as a nice Cabernet for your cook out. The dark fruit flavors will go will with burgers or grilled meats.